Saving Grace
by 99DenmonChick99
Summary: Kushina is the caretaker of her village's orphans. Minato is a Konoha shinobi on an investigative mission that goes awry. When an injured Minato shows up at Kushina's front door, love blossoms. However, an evil force is lurking in the shadows, a vision of what is to come fueling his desire to kill. Semi-AU. Set during the Third Shinobi World War.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Minato Namikaze trudged through the torrential rain, his tired feet dragging through the mud. His left arm was hanging uselessly at his side as blood dripped from a large gash wrapping around his shoulder to inner elbow. His right arm was curled around his abdomen and with each step he felt as if the open wound there would spill his innards out onto the ground in front of him. The rainwater turned red as it mingled with the blood of his wounds.

The mission had been an important one; his squad was supposed to scout out the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers where a platoon of Suna shinobi had broken through Konoha's defenses. They were ordered to find out how large the platoon was and investigate how they had gotten through before returning to Konoha to report their findings. It was suspected that one of Konoha's own had turned traitor and helped the enemy across the weakest point in their defenses. They were ordered not to engage the enemy. However, the mission quickly turned deadly when their suspicions proved to be correct.

It was a Konoha shinobi who not only knew of where the defenses were weakest but had enough sense to realize that the Hokage would be sending a squad to investigate once word reached the village. The enemy had immediately detected Minato's team and wiped them out. Although they had fought face to face with the traitor, the man was almost gleeful as he cut down his former comrades, a carefully crafted henge kept his identity secret.

Minato had been the only one to escape alive but he was far from unscathed. Squinting up through his dripping wet bangs, he searched for any type of shelter from the unrelenting weather. A cluster of lights a short distance away, caught his attention through the haze of pain that had settled over his mind.

* * *

 **Hi! So this is the prologue to the story. I am very excited with what I have in store. Do not worry, the upcoming chapters will definitely be longer than this. Alas, this is just the beginning so I don't want to give too much away. I like to test the waters first. See if people will like it. This is my first time writing a story for this site so I'm trying to get used to the way it works so if you have any advice for me, it would be greatly appreciated. Please review, I would like feedback/ideas on where to take it from here. No hate though, please and thank you :)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Kushina Uzumaki knew the moment she woke up that it would be a bad day. Her first clue? The rain. Granted, it's not uncommon for her village to be drenched in rain every so often. They are, in fact, close to the boarder of the Land of Rivers where frequent rainfall keeps the rivers wet and the grass plush. However, that doesn't change the fact that Kushina hates the rain and for a good reason too. How is she supposed to make a living when she can't even open shop?

Kushina sighed as the curtain of rain refused to part before her, that was a silly notion anyway. Delivering her store's herbs to the village doctor would have to wait. She placed her basket filled with various herbal mixes down carefully on the chair beside her and took a glance around at her somewhat cluttered home.

"Guess I'll be cleaning today…" She mumbled to herself. Besides, it's not like the doc would be having any patients come in with the way it is outside. Only an idiot would go out on a day like today.

"Onee-chaaaan!"

"Shut up, you crybaby!"

Kushina sighed once more, pinching the bridge of her nose in a pathetic attempt to impede her oncoming headache. Speaking of idiots, she has her own two little dumb-dumbs to think about. Rolling her eyes as the sounds of physical fighting reached her from the bedroom farthest from the front door, she hurried over to her two charges. It was always best to break the fight quickly before someone —most likely Obito— got injured.

Walking to stand at the threshold of the room, she observed the scene before her. Kakashi, with his beautiful silver hair, his lazy eyes, and apathetic attitude, had managed to pin Obito, a sensitive, energetic boy with the blackest hair and equally black eyes, on the floor of the room and proceeded to shove a pillow in his captive's face, effectively cutting off his air supply if the other boy's wild flailing was anything to go by. How the youngest of the household always managed to get the better of the older boy is beyond Kushina and honestly, she doesn't care so long as both boys obey her.

"Kakashi, would you kindly remove that pillow from Obito's face? I'm sure he would appreciate it." Kushina said, leaning on the doorway. She worded it as a simple request, and with a sweet enough voice, but anyone that knows her can tell of the horrors that happen when her requests are disregarded. Kakashi frowned, obviously reluctant to allow the older boy the precious oxygen he so desperately needed. However, a fiery glare from the woman with equally fiery hair convinced him that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to try smothering Obito, no matter how annoying the other boy got.

As soon as Obito was freed from Kakashi's clutches, he ran crying to Kushina about how horrible the younger boy was. Seeing the immediate change in Kushina's eyes from anger at him to sympathy for Obito, Kakashi sat back on the floor with a roll of his eyes and a huff as he prepared himself for the lecture bound to come.

"Shhh~ Obito. It's alright," Kushina soothed, petting the crying eleven year old's hair until his wails became sniffles, "Now tell me what happened."

"I-i was only trying to sleep when Bakakashi started bothering me and then….h-he just hit me! It really hurt!" Obito cried out, showing Kushina the bruise that was forming on his shoulder where Kakashi had hit him.

"Is that true, Kakashi?" Kushina, her gaze sharp, looked to the younger boy for confirmation, who's only response was to cross his arms and turn his head away. She sighed, swallowing down the reprimand that immediately jumped up her throat. She knew she had to be fair in this and hear both sides of the story before she proceeded to scold the guilty party. Taking a deep breath, she tried again in a less irate tone.

"Kakashi, what happened?" Kushina waited for his answer, seeing the boy look down at his curled toes for a moment before he looked up into her eyes.

"I didn't mean to hurt him." The answer was mumbled and quick, as if the words hurt coming out of his mouth, "You told me to wake him up but then Obito wouldn't wake up so I had to m-make sure he wasn't…"

Kakashi trailed off, his expression one of confusion as he tried to find the reasoning in his own actions. Kushina's eyes softened as she realized what had caused Kakashi to lash out when the older boy didn't respond to him, she realized it was fear, not anger that provoked him. Kushina had only become Kakashi's caretaker recently, seven months ago. The circumstances of his father's death left a scared and confused boy looking to be cared for, to be loved.

Kushina had taken him in when no one else would, after all, no one wants a broken child. After deciding to become the caretaker for Obito several years prior, Kushina had thought he would be the only one she would take in but looking into Kakashi's sorrowful eyes had broken her heart and so she took him under her wing too. She'd hoped she would do more good for the boy than any of the other villagers. After all, she had done well with Obito. However, it turned out that not all orphan boys were as sweet as Obito and with the troubled Kakashi came a whole new batch of experiences, and not many of them pleasant.

Eight-year old Kakashi had been the one to find his father, cold and dead on the floor, looking as if he were asleep had it not been for the blood surrounding him. Kakashi had tried waking him up, tried all night, but when morning came those eyes remained shut, never to open again. _The memory of that night seems to be haunting the poor boy now_ , Kushina thought as she knelt down between Obito and Kakashi.

"It seems to me that you're both to blame for this little fight, Obito, Kakashi," She said, looking to each boy in turn, "Next time, don't ignore Kakashi when he's trying to get your attention, Obito, it's already past breakfast time so I told him to wake you up. Kakashi, next time, come to me when Obito won't wake up. Don't immediately resort to violence when you're ignored. Understand, you two?"

Kushina waited with a stern gaze until both boys gave her a nod before standing up, flashing them a cheerful smile.

"Now go eat, breakfast is on the table and it's already cold." Those words seemed to dispel any tension left in the room as both boys scampered off, their eyes alight with the prospect of food. It wasn't until several hours later when Kushina's second clue that it would be a bad day came, quite literally, stumbling up to her door.

* * *

 **I decided to end it there for pacing reasons. Most chapters are going to be about this long, maybe a bit longer. I find that it's easier to keep a reader's attention with chapters around 1,000 words. Longer chapters can get tedious to read. In case you didn't catch it while reading, Kakashi is 8 and Obito is 11. Please review, I would love to hear your thoughts on my story so far :)**


	3. Chapter 2

If it wasn't for the fact that Kushina had had unpleasant dealings while helping the village doctor in the past, she would have screamed. However, she was able to keep the shocked noises to a minimum and only gave out a little squeak that would have been undignified had there been anyone conscious enough to hear it. Thankfully, her boys were in the other room arguing loudly about who was the bigger crybaby, it sounded like Obito was losing.

The object of her sudden alarm? A man, his eyes fluttering closed as he pitched forward, had arrived at her doorstep half-dead, his blond hair streaked with dirt —and is that blood? Another startled squeak nearly escaped her when she barely managed to catch the man as he fell. Instead, a string of profanities tumbled off her tongue loud enough to catch the attention of the boys in the other room.

"Kushina-san, what's wrong?" That was Kakashi. Unlike Obito, he never took to calling her Onee-chan.

"D-don't come in here!" Unfortunately, her protest came too late as the boys, Obito in the lead, scampered into the room like a pair of puppies. Kushina carefully laid the man down as the youngsters gathered around, each with their own exclamations of shock.

"Is he dead!?" Cried Obito as he backed away, unconsciously hiding himself behind Kakashi, who was staring wide-eyed at the man. Kushina noticed Kakashi's clenched fists and the way Obito's eyes misted with tears. She quickly ushered them away from the man bleeding all over the floor and pushed them into the bedroom.

"You two stay here, I'm gonna take him to Dr. Nohara." Kushina said, wiping her hands free of blood and water to give them each a squeeze.

"But Kushina-san, he's already dead." Kakashi told her quietly, eyes withdrawn.

"He's not dead. I can feel a pulse," Kushina replied, giving the boys a smile she hoped was reassuring, "He'll be all right in the doctor's hands."

Closing the door behind her, she returned to the stranger on the floor. Studying him more closely, she realized he was wearing a jounin uniform complete with weapon pouches she was sure were stocked with kunai and shuriken. Heart pounding with the thought that she could be kneeling beside an enemy, she took her sleeve and wiped the mud away from his hitai-ate, the symbol of Konoha calmed her frightened mind.

"Not an enemy then." She breathed, thoughts of what she might've had to do to him passed from her mind. She knelt still for a moment, wondering at the possibility of bringing him more harm during the journey ahead of them. Telling the boys she would take him to the doctor was one thing, actually bringing herself to lug the heavy man all the way there was something entirely different.

* * *

The day had started out a tad bit peculiar for eleven year old Rin Nohara. First, classes at the village school had been canceled, according to the poor rain soaked boy who had been tasked with spreading the message. What unforgivable sin he had committed to be picked for the job was unknown to Rin. _Maybe he just likes the rain_ , she pondered.

The second peculiarity, although not unexpected, it was in fact pouring rain outside, was the nice lady who runs the herb shop several blocks away didn't come in at the usual time to deliver the supply of medicinal herbs to her father, the village doctor. Rin likes Kushina-san, she's happy that Kushina-san is the caretaker of Kakashi and Obito. The two boys are her best friends in school and she loves them both, though she'd never tell Obito that she loves Kakashi a bit more.

This third peculiar event definitely takes the cake, Rin decided as she opened the door, revealing a soaking wet Kushina-san, half-carrying, half-dragging an unconscious person behind her.

"Hey there, Rin-chan," Kushina started, grunting as she tried and failed to heft the person more onto her shoulder, "Is the doc in?"

"U-um.." Rin started, her mind still trying to catch up with the situation. A moment of silence reigned, in which Kushina-san got increasingly impatient, before Rin turned around to shout.

"Daaaaad!" She screamed with all her might, "Kushina-san's got a patient for you!"

The sound of footsteps were heard before a man, his grey-brown hair flopping wildly about, burst into the room.

"Where's the patient?" He asked, following the silent pointing of his daughter to the door where Kushina awaited. He rushed forward, taking the injured man from Kushina and bringing him into the examination room at the back of the clinic.

"What happened to him? Did you see who attacked him? These wounds were made by a kunai! Did the enemy shinobi get away?"

When bombarded by the doctor with these questions, Kushina's already fragile state of mind worsened and pacing outside the door to the room was all she could do to keep calm.

"I don't know!" She shouted her answer through the door, "He just showed up at my house all injured and bleeding, you know!"

She would've been embarrassed for the slip into her verbal tick had it not been for the questions pressing at her mind. Had there been an enemy shinobi? If so, where have they gone?

* * *

Kakashi was normally one to stay calm but seeing the injured man on the floor of their home had sent his mind spinning. That man was a _shinobi_. From what village, Kakashi didn't know, nor did it matter because in his eyes all shinobi are evil. It was shinobi who had driven he and his father away from their home. It was they who had plunged his father into depression and ultimately it was they who had plunged his father's tanto through his body.

"Who do you think he is, Kakashi? He was wearing a hitai-ate which means he's a shinobi, right?" Obito asked, his eyes alight with curiosity. He didn't know it was because of shinobi that Kakashi's father had died, he didn't know it was the shinobi way that had broken Kakashi's family. He only knew that Kakashi was different from him and yet the same. Both of them had had their precious people ripped away, both of them have each other, and both of them have Kushina.

"He's no one." Kakashi replied, turning to look out the window, gazing in the direction he knew the doctor's clinic was. Whoever that shinobi was, whatever made him come to this village, only one thing mattered. Kakashi would not let this shinobi take away those precious to him, not again.

* * *

 **Hey, guys! It would be awesome if you could review, I love to hear what you guys think :) I have lots and lots in store for this story so stay tuned.**


	4. Chapter 4

It was mid afternoon before Kushina arrived back home to the boys. The rain had slowed to a light drizzle and the clouds parted slightly to reveal the dazzling sun.

"I'm home! I hope you two didn't kill each other while I was gone, you know." Kushina, entering with slight caution, called into the small yet adequately sized living portion of her shop. Silence was her answer as she padded toward the boy's bedroom with socked feet. As she reached the threshold, soft snoring was heard coming from none other than Obito, who she found sprawled out on the bed, what was supposed to be his homework had scattered out onto the floor below.

Kakashi on the other hand was very much awake and was peering up at her through silver eyelashes that twinkled in the light coming through the window. The book he had been reading before she had entered was held up to the lower portion to his face, a defensive mechanism he had gained from the trauma of his father's death that Kushina wasn't sure Kakashi was even conscious of. She smiled and approached him, tiptoeing gingerly so as not to wake Obito.

"Hey," Kushina said, perching herself next to Kakashi on the wooden bench beside the window, "Obito fall asleep on you?"

Kakashi scoffed with a roll of his eyes, lowering the book slightly to chew on the corners of it's pages, a habit which Kushina was trying to rid him of.

"The idiot passed out only a half an hour after you left." Kakashi answered Kushina as she eased the book from his grasp —and teeth— and examined it. The book had no title, it wasn't one of Kakashi's schoolbooks. Inside, written on it's pages, were the words of a shinobi, Kakashi's father, Kushina realized as she read the page Kakashi had turned to. It described the typical life one would guess a shinobi would have, wake up, train, go on a mission…

"Father wrote this before I was born. I don't think he had even met my mother yet," Kakashi murmured, his eyes trained on Kushina, "He used to tell me stories of his missions…even the ones he'd failed. He said I could learn from them, so that when I'd become a shinobi, I'd be even greater than he was."

Kushina looked up from the page to meet Kakashi's eyes, she found his face empty of emotion. Nothing but blank, unblinking eyes.

"He sounds like he was a great shinobi, and an even greater father." Kushina said with all honesty, hoping to lighten the boys solemn expression. Instead, what she got was a flicker of his eye lids, a moment when she saw the pain he was hiding, then gone, like the sunlight that had been drowned out by the darkened clouds once again.

"That man, the one you brought to the doctor." Kakashi began, looking out the window as rain began to spatter across it. The corners of Kushina's mouth quirked down at the sudden change in conversation.

"What about him?"

"He's a shinobi, isn't he?" Kushina knew it was rhetorical yet still she nodded, watching Kakashi curiously. A flicker of hate in his eyes and his next words rang clear in Kushina's ears despite their mumbled state.

"I hate shinobi."

* * *

Rin sighed into her spoonful of soup, some of the hot liquid sloshing over the edge of her utensil with the action. She watched it drip from her spoon as she contemplated being left alone at the dining table while her parents tended to their new patient. Sometimes she wished she weren't so young so that she too could help in the recovery of suffering people.

To be a doctor like her father was her only wish. Oh, that and to have a little brother. However, neither of them could come true quite yet. Her father says she's too young to begin learning how to stitch wounds, and her mother says it's not certain that the next child will be a boy. Rin took another spoonful of her soup and this time slurped it into her mouth without blowing.

"Hot!" She exclaimed, her spoon falling from her hand and clattering into the bowl as soup dribbled down her chin from scalded lips. At that moment, her father entered, sniffing the air like a hungry wolf.

"Is that tomato soup I smell? Aw, thank you Rin-chan for making dinner for us." He praised, patting her head as Rin's mother appeared at the doorway, smiling brightly at her only child.

"Good news, Rin-chan! The patient will make a full recovery," She exclaimed happily as she ladled soup into her and her husband's bowls, "When you're done with your soup, will you go and check on him? I don't want to leave him alone for too long. Shinobi tend to wake up faster than you predict."

Rin pouted for a moment before smiling in realization, if they were asking her to check up on a patient then that means her training to be a doctor must have started now!

* * *

To Minato, pain is good, it is a sign that you're still alive. However, that doesn't mean he likes pain. Waking up to pain pulsating from every limb and having it worsen each time he takes a breath, is not pleasant. The blankets piled on top of his body to keep him warm were doing their job a bit too well and the constricting bandages on his chest and torso do not make it easier for him either.

In fact, Minato would like nothing more than to fall back into the deep darkness he had been dragged out from. It wouldn't matter the method of how he'd get back to the pleasant numbness of that darkness, just that he would be able to come back from it again when the pain became a little less..well…painful.

Although, it did feel good to be alive.

* * *

 **Hey, guys! Thanks for waiting patiently, classes are getting harder so I'm not sure when the next update will be but keep a look out! Please review~! I love reading your responses to my chapters :)**


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